Whole Foods Eyeing Harlem Location

Whole Foods co-CEO John Mackey at an event at the Tribeca store Tuesday.View Full Caption

Max Goldberg

HARLEM—Could a Whole Foods be coming to Harlem?

According to the blog livingmaxwell.com, billed as a guide to organic food and drink, Whole Foods co-CEO John Mackey let the news slip Tuesday that the organic foods retailer was considering coming uptown.

Mackey was answering a question during a talk at the chain's TriBeCa location about urban areas where Whole Foods was considering opening a store, according to Max Goldberg, founder of livingmaxwell.com.

"He said, 'We are going to be opening up in Harlem,' followed by 'I shouldn't have said that,'" Goldberg said of Mackey.

Whole Foods spokesman Michael Sinatra acknowledged that the chain was exploring its options in Harlem but that nothing had been finalized.

Whole Foods' TriBeCa location has been slapped with a lawsuit for firing a pregnant worker.View Full Caption

Tiffibunny/Flickr

"We are currently exploring the area," said Sinatra. "Our construction and real estate teams are looking at a couple of options."

"It's ongoing and nothing is definitive," he added.

But Goldberg said Mackey sounded anything but tentative. "He kept talking about it," he said.

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